Suicide and Psychos
by blackdragon333
Summary: He never expected to care. He's the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand...he can't afford a love interest, and he knows that. But when a brokenhearted, semisuicidal kunoichi wanders into his life, he finds himself falling for her. But things don't go easily...
1. The Genocide of Kawagakure

Hey guys! BD333 back with another Gaara fanfic. What can I say? I love my psycho sandman

Disclaimer for the entire story cuz I hate writing this SOB (that stands for Stupid Old Bore by the way haha) : I don't own Naruto (the show). I don't own Gaara. If I did, thousands of fangirls would be in jail, and he would be ALL MINE. I do, however, own Yoshihiro, Masayoshi, Mitsuo, and any other characters I decide to make later. So don't steal 'em, m'kay?

Here ya go!

"Yoshihiro!" Screamed Azami. "No!"

"Nii-san!" Wailed Yoshihiro as the Sound ninja carried him out the door. "Don't let him hurt me!"

"I won't!" Yelled Azami, sprinting after them. Her parents' mutilated bodies lay on the floor of their home, their ears bleeding, the trademark of the ninja from Otogakure. A Sound ninja was carrying her little brother away, presumably to be experimented on by Orochimaru.

Azami could _not_ let that happen to her little brother. As she charged after them, she heard screams and knew that the other families in their small village were being attacked. She couldn't stop to help them, though she was now the only ninja in their country, Kawa no Kuni. Seeing as how she was from the River Country, she had been swimming a lot, and her legs were strong, so she was able to catch up. Her family was the only ninja family in their village, but everyone had been so proud to have them there, they had called the village Kawagakure. Azami winced now as people called to her for help that she couldn't give them, but she hurried after her brother.

Finally, as she rounded a corner, she stopped. "Let him go, you bastard!"

A dark-haired ninja was holding her struggling brother under one arm. "Who's going to make me, little girl?" He leered, three more dead bodies bleeding from the ears off to the side. "You?"

"If I have to. But I was hoping we could all play nice and nobody would get hurt." She answered sarcastically.

"Oh, so sorry. Orochimaru-sama needs this village as a halfway point."

"Between Konoha and Suna?"

"Yeah. Even though it's only a day's sprint from Suna, it's ideal." The man leered at her again. "We're taking over this country, little girl, and after that, the entire shinobi world. If we can split up Konoha's power alliance with Suna, we can attack both their ninja easily and prevent them from getting to each other, it'll be a piece of cake."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, puzzled.

"Because." He smiled. "You won't be alive long enough for it to matter. We're coming back next Saturday---that's two from now, in case you can't keep up---to convert this place into our newest hideout."

Just then, he threw Yoshihiro at her and sprinted at her at the same time. She caught him and slung him over her shoulder, leaping backwards, away from the Sound ninja. He whipped out his kunai as he went.

"Yoshihiro, run! Hide! I'll hold him off!"

Azami let Yoshihiro down, and he sprinted away from the fight without a second thought. As Yoshihiro ran, however, three more Sound ninja appeared in front of him, blocking his path. He stared upwards in silent terror as the middle one grinned. Then, he backed away slowly. As the middle ninja pulled out a shuriken, Azami leaped over Yoshihiro to land in front of him, snarling protectively with her kunai set to attack position. The three ninja in front of her took a step backwards, surprise plainly showing on their faces, and she smiled mentally. She knew she could handle them if they made such elementary mistakes as to show surprise to their enemy.

Then, she felt wet warmth on her back, and her eyes widened. She trembled and closed her eyes as she touched her back and brought her hand to where she could see it, and her worst fears were confirmed when she opened her eyes and saw that it was blood. Still hoping that it was somehow the Sound ninja's blood, she turned around. Anger and grief pulsed through her veins as all hope was extinguished. Her little brother lay flat on his face with a Sound kunai through his back.

"Y-Yoshihiro..." She stammered quietly. Then, fire and hatred burned in her eyes as she glared at the bastard that had killed him. "You killed my brother!"

She leaped at him, going for his throat with her kunai, but he jumped back, engaging her in battle with a smile. "Well, that's your fault. I _was_ going to take him back to Otogakure, but-"

"Yeah, to become Orochimaru's plaything? No thank you! He's better off dead than becoming one of Orochimaru's fucked up experiments!"

Just then, two more ninja showed up. "What's going on?"

"We've found a kunoichi."

"Well..." Grinned the second one. "Let's help Mitsuo out, shall we?"

The other four grinned and surrounded Mitsuo and Azami. They all began to attack, and Mitsuo smiled. No problem here. A minute or two more and they could all go home.

And Azami fought them. She fought them with all she had, the faces of her friends and family flashing through her mind and giving her strength and the courage to fight. For two days and two nights, she fought them, countering every jutsu, blocking every shuriken and kunai, redirecting every punch. On the third morning, she was tiring extremely, and was hit by several shuriken and kunai, caught in a genjutsu, kicked once, and punched twice.

"Damn it." Mitsuo growled, rubbing his sore chin where she had kicked him the day before. "We gotta get back to Oto. Orochimaru-sama will be very displeased if we are late."

His right-hand man nodded as the other four took their turns fighting Azami. "So what do we do?"

"It's simple. We trick her. I'll do it. Make a clone and disguise him as me, alright?"

"Sure, Mitsuo, but-"

"Don't ask. Just obey."

"Right, right."

With a secret, furtive smile on his face, Mitsuo disappeared behind a ruined building. His right-hand man and the clone that looked like himself entered the circle of shinobi surrounding Azami.

'There he is!' Thought Azami, focusing completely. 'The bastard that killed Yoshihiro...'

As she bent her knees to attack him, a sound she heard stopped her in her tracks.

"Nii-san...help...it hurts..."

Trembling, she turned around, missing the looks the Sound ninja exchanged.

"Yoshihiro!" She exclaimed, rushing towards him. "How did you---Yoshi, how did you survive?"

Just as she put her hands on his shoulders, he looked up at her with an evil grin on his face. "I didn't."

The happiness fled from her face, and Mitsuo's illusion poofed away as he stabbed Azami through the ribs. She staggered backwards. "You...bastard..."

She gasped for air, and bloody saliva bubbled in the corner of her mouth. She fell backwards onto her back, smacking her head against the hard ground and knocking her unconscious. Her head fell to the side, and a trickle of blood slipped down her chin.

"Well, Mitsuo?" Asked his right-hand man.

"She's dead, and the crows and scavengers will get to her soon enough. We don't have time to fully eliminate her body...we're going to have to go as fast as we can already just to make it back on time. Let's go."

The other five nodded, and they took off. Mitsuo looked down at Azami with something like pity in his eyes. Then, as if to destroy the emotions he held, he stepped on her arm, snapping her forearm.

Then, he followed after his comrades.

So, that was the first chapter. This story started out as just one single word in my head, and evolved into many many words. I'm so proud! gush

Review me PLEAAASE!!!!!

M'kay?

BD333, out!


	2. Kikuchi Azami

Just a fun little thing I decided to put in. It's from Azami's perspective!

-

My name is Azami. It is Japanese for 'thistle flower'. My parents chose this name for me, hoping that even in the midst of thorns (representing difficulties and tragedies), I would remain a beautiful flower (or pure and unhurt). They didn't know that their wishes for me would be put to the test, or that I would have to take that test without their aid or the aid of any of my friends or family. Perhaps if they had, they would have named me something different. I suppose we'll have to wait and see if I pass this test the gods have put before me, but the way things are going, I can't be certain that I will. My desires, as of now, are to seek vengeance for the people of Kawagakure, and to die and be reunited with them.

I doubt that my desires will change any time soon.

----------------------------

I hope you enjoyed it

If you guys like this sort of thing as a weekly add-in thing, I can do Gaara, Mitsuo, Yoshihiro, or Masayoshi as well

Let me know!

3 BlackDragon333


	3. After the Massacre

Here's chapter two :) I hope you enjoy!

(chapter)

Azami lay, unconscious and beaten, in the midst of her ruined village and murdered friends and family. And there she lay for three days, until a coyote came up to sniff at her. Her eyes snapped open, and she snarled at it. It fled, yelping, back to its pack.

She sat up stiffly, her stomach gurgling and her mouth as dry as a desert. 'Desert...huh...'

She was too tired to formulate her plan yet, however. She tried to stand and was stopped by the pain in her arm. Leaning on the opposite arm, she stood carefully. Getting her bearings, she entered the nearest house, pausing to knock on the door out of habit before she remembered that everyone was dead. She got a glass and drank until her thirst was quenched, then drank another glass, knowing that she was dehydrated and needed the fluid. She grabbed an apple off the table and ate it quickly, then went to her home. In the backyard, she dug three graves. Seeing as how she only had one good arm, it took her many hours and a lot of pain, but at the end of five hours, three graves sat in her yard. Two were the same size, but one was nearly twice as small as those. She buried her parents tenderly, gently laying their bodies into their graves.

Then, she fetched her brother's body. Cradling him gently to her, she laid him into the small grave between her parents. As the last shovelful of dirt covered his pale, pain-filled face, tears began to course down hers. Throwing the shovel down, she laid down at the foot of their graves and cried, ignoring the pain in her broken arm.

An hour or so later, she was calm enough to make herself a splint for her arm to make sure there was no permanent damage. She sat on the roof of her house, staring out at her village...or rather, the ruins of it. She began to formulate a plan, speaking aloud just for the comfort of a voice.

"I need to get to one of the five great villages. Konoha or Suna is preferable. Suna is my best bet..."

Then, her sharp shinobi eyes caught a movement near the Kuwabara household. Hope in her eyes, she sprang over.

'I'll be happy if it's any of them, or anyone really, but please...let it be Masayoshi...' She thought, hope welling up in her throat despite her efforts not to get her hopes up. 'Outside of my family, he's the one I feel the most grief for. Please be Masa...'

She leapt down to where she had seen the movement and turned the body over. "Masayoshi! It _is_ you!"

He coughed. "Azami? Azami!" He raised his hands to her arms, accidentally brushing her ribs in the process.

"Agh!" She yelped.

"I'm so sorry..." He murmured. "Are you hurt?"

She nodded. "He stabbed me in the ribs, and they broke my arm after I was knocked out. But, Masa...where are you hurt? Maybe I can help you!"

He shook his head. "No, Azami...I'm dying. Their shuriken...they cut me up well."

"Just show me, Masa...let me try, at least..."

Wincing painfully, he lifted his shirt. She gasped in surprise, clapping her good hand to her mouth. His stomach was a torn up, bloody mess, almost as if a carnivore had bitten him with its teeth. He lowered his shirt again. "That's why I didn't want you to see, Azami...you can't do anything for that..." He coughed dryly, a hacking cough with the sound of death rattling through it. "Besides...I've already lost too much blood...you just can't tell because my shirt is red." He finished his statement with a coughing fit.

"Masayoshi..." She mumbled, tears in her eyes. She laid her hand on his face. "Please...don't die...we're the only ones left, Masa, you _can't_ die! I'll be all alone..."

He smiled up at her tenderly. "Azami, come here." She leaned down next to him. "Closer..." She leaned even closer to him, and he smiled. "Azami, you will _never_ be alone. Though we might be gone in body, our spirits will remember you, and our memories will stay in your heart. No matter what, remember that. We will _always_ be with you." He slid his hand behind her head and brought her down so he could press his lips to hers. "Always."

"Masayoshi," Azami trembled. "I love you...don't leave me..."

He looked at her sternly. "Azami...don't tell me that just because I'm dying. You like me a lot, but you don't love me. We both know that, although you might not want to realize that. Promise me something?"

Tears ran freely down her face as she answered, "Anything."

"The next time you tell someone you love them...promise me that it'll be for real."

"I...I promise, Masayoshi." She murmured as tears slid down her cheeks.

"Good. And, Azami...you're fifteen years old. It's going to be hard for you, but you've got your entire life ahead of you. Don't change because of all that happened in the past few days. Do me a favor, alright? Find someone new to care for." He placed his hand on her neck once more and pulled her face down towards his one last time. Her lips inches from his, he paused. "Goodbye."

Their lips connected, and Azami kissed him tenderly, her tears dripping onto his face. She felt his hand slip off her neck, and she caught it with her good arm, pulling away gently. She placed his arm down by his side and brushed his sweaty blonde hair off his forehead. "Sleep now, Kuwabara Masayoshi." She whispered, tears pouring down her face. "God knows you deserve to."

She stood and walked into her home, grabbing her ninja gear and reinforcing the splint on her arm. She grabbed a cloak to protect her from the deserts of Suna and left her house, leaving the village. As she walked, she thought. 'I'm sorry, Masayoshi, and to you as well, Mr. and Mrs. Kuwabara. I can't afford to bury you right now. It was Thursday when this fight began, it was Saturday when I lost consciousness, and I don't know what day it is now, but they'll be back less than a week from now. I've got to get to Suna, convince the Kazekage to send help, and get revenge for you and the rest of the village...especially for Yoshihiro. I'll bury you later...and I'll make a monument, a great one, for all of the fallen. I promise.

'I've just got to get to Sunagakure first.'

(chapter)

Well, I hope you liked it!:) And you guys get to pick whose name I write about next...Masayoshi, Yoshihiro, or Mitsuo. Review me with your choice!

BlackDragon333


	4. Kuwabara Masayoshi

Hello. My name is Kuwabara Masayoshi. My parents named me Masayoshi because it's Japanese for 'govern righteously' and also for 'shining goodness'. They hoped that, when I was older, I would hold a position of power in Kawagakure, and they wanted me to be a good ruler. They also wanted me to have a lot of friends, and hoped that if I was named 'shining goodness' that I would have the right personality to be popular. In a way, their wishes came true. I _did_ have a lot of friends, but they weren't good friends. The only good friend I ever had was Kikuchi Azami, and, well...I didn't think of her as just a friend. We never mentioned it, but...I think we both must've felt it. She tried to teach me some of her ninja arts, but I wasn't good enough to learn them. She was always patient with me, though, and sometimes she blushed as she laughed at my efforts. I didn't mind her laughter, though...I was pretty pathetic. The day I died was the day we first kissed. I'm sure that, if I had lived, we would have ended up marrying. But...I didn't. I died that day, in the middle of the kiss I had waited for for sixteen years. But what I want most is for her to move on, to find someone that she really does love. It'll take all the strength she has inside of her and all the courage she can muster to go on after what happened to our village...and the only thing that can help her is to have someone who loves her. I want her to be happy. I don't care who it's with, as long as she has someone to count on.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Kuwabara Masayoshi? He was my best friend. I thought I loved him, but...he knew that I didn't. He was wise beyond his years, that one, and we were always together. He cared about Yoshihiro, too, and that was always important to me. Towards the end, I had a big crush on him, and I think he may have liked me as well. In fact, I was pretty sure that we'd end up getting married eventually. Even though I'm only fifteen, I couldn't picture living without my Masa. Now that I am...it's horrible. I miss him, and I can't go an hour without wondering how things would've been different if only I had been able to protect him. I keep remembering all the times we had together, like the times he helped me with homework in school. He was always smart; ever since we were first friends he had always been the smart one. I don't know how he did it, but he trained me to think intelligently. Before he died, he told me that he wanted me to make sure it was for real the next time I said that I loved someone, implying that he wanted me to find someone to love. I don't think I can...it'll be too hard. I'll try...but I know I can't.

Most of all, I miss him.

I did Masayoshi's perspective for MistFaerie93, and I added Azami's thoughts of Masayoshi for me, because I thought it was fun :)

I kinda miss him :(

BlackDragon333


	5. To The Kazekage

Well...here's chapter three! I'm sorry about the wait, but I accidentally deleted everything from my computer, and there was no way to get it back, according to the computer company.

I cried about it for four nights in a row until I finally got around to rebuilding it. I looked in the C drive on a wild hope.

Guess what?

Computer companies are idiots.

&&Chapter&&

Azami wandered the forests of her country for several hours before coming to the desert that marked the Wind Country's borders. She traveled across the desert for two days, not stopping to rest even at night, the time of bandits and predators, or during the noon to four hours, the hottest ones of the day, the hours that had made even completely healthy ninja stop to regain their strength. Her weakened condition impeded her pace, and it would've been more beneficial for her to stop to rest, but the emotionally ruined kunoichi didn't see it that way and luckily didn't run into bandits or predators. She had to get to Suna to get help, and then she could die.

'Did I just think that I can die after I get revenge?' Thought Azami in surprise. Then, she began to think about it. 'Dying...leaving behind a world with no one in it, to be reunited with my family and my friends? Well...that actually...that sounds good. I've got nothing and no one to live for, and there's nothing and no one to hurt if I should die, so...why not? The last I heard, the Kazekage was a murderer and his people fear him. He was fourteen then, and that was two years ago, so he's sixteen now, but...he can't have changed that much. He can kill me after I get revenge, or at least after I have it arranged. That'll be perfect. That way, I won't go to hell, but I still get to die.'

Finally, in the afternoon of the second day (which was a Wednesday, although Azami didn't know it), she approached the gates of Suna. As she knocked on the closed gate, a guard called down to her from atop the watchtowers.

"Who are you, from what village do you hail, and what business have you in Sunagakure?"

"My name is Kikuchi Azami. I am from Kawagakure of the River Country, and I seek to speak with the Kazekage-sama regarding important matters dealing with Oto no Kuni."

The guards made sounds of surprise. "O-of course, Kikuchi-san. One moment." He turned to his companion. "She says she hails from Kawagakure of the River Country."

"I wasn't aware there was a shinobi village in Kawa no Kuni." He answered, surprised.

"To my knowledge, there isn't."

"So...is she mentally unstable?"

"I'm not certain. But she also says that she has information regarding the Sound Country, and not even the mentally disturbed would make that up."

"We can't afford to take the chance and turn her away. Let her in."

The gates opened, and Azami walked in. As the guards got a closer look at her, they gasped. "If you come this way, we can take you to a medical ninja for healing-"

"No. I refuse to go anywhere except directly to the Kazekage-sama."

"Gaara-sama is extremely busy right now, Kikuchi-san, and it may be a while until-"

"Well, if he doesn't make time for me, it may be the end of the shinobi world as we know it, along with Konoha, Suna, and their alliance!" She exploded.

The guards exchanged shocked glances, and the first one backed away. "I will alert him at once. Please wait here, Kikuchi-san."

"No. I'm coming with you."

He sighed. "Very well. I expected as much. I'll take you to him."

"Arigatou." She replied without expression.

As the guard led her towards the Kazekage's office, he frowned. 'She isn't mentally disturbed, but perhaps it would have been better if she was. This does not bode well. Something terrible has happened...this kunoichi has a friendly aura, but she's cold and broken. She's got that feeling to her...that feeling of those who have lost all hope and simply await death. The feeling like our own Kazekage used to have. This meeting between them...this will be interesting."

Just then, three small children dashed past them, laughing and carrying on. The guard watched as Azami turned her head away to hide the motion of wiping away tears.

'Very interesting indeed.'

&&Chapter&&

Kind of short...should I put up another chapter after this? You guys decide in your reviews. Oh! And who's my next name-analysis? Mitsuo or Yoshihiro? VOTE!!! lol

BlackDragon333


	6. Kikuchi Yoshihiro

Hi! My name is Kikuchi Yoshihiro. Well, I guess my name _was_ Kikuchi Yoshihiro. It means 'widespread goodness'. My mommy and dad named me that because they wanted me to be real good. They named me that, too, cuz they named Azami after thistle flowers. They said that they wanted to make sure she had somebody to keep her happy, and when they had me, she was real happy, so...that's what they named me. Oh, and I guess they wanted me to be real nice and kind when I grew up. Anyhow...I didn't get the chance. A real big ninja...he killed me. It hurt pretty bad, but I didn't notice much, 'cuz I died right after. He coulda made it hurt super bad, but he didn't. I guess he coulda just wanted to hurry up, but...he mighta actually did it on purpose. I don't know, though. Anyways, Azami was real sad, I'm sure. She tried to save me, and she did real good for a while, but that one was too sneaky. She was real scary when she protected me from the other three, though. You know that sound that big dogs make right before they bark? Not a growl, but that sound they make when they growl with their mouths open? That's what my sister sounded like when she saved me the first time. The other guys were real scared 'cuz they backed away super fast, but the one was real sneaky and got me from behind my sister. I know she tried her hardest. I hope she knows I still love her.

Yoshihiro is...

Yoshi was my brother. He was younger than me, too. I was fifteen when he died...and he was seven. That's right. That bastard that killed him...he murdered a little boy, in cold blood. A seven-year-old boy, with hopes, dreams, desires, and the rest of his life to live...gone. It's not the people's deaths that harm us the most, although we _do_ miss them. When young children die, we mourn the loss of dreams. Children, in all cultures of the world, represent the future. When Yoshihiro died, so did his future. Some woman lost her husband, but she doesn't know it. And my nieces and nephews won't be born now. Because this _one_ boy died, thousands of children over tens of generations won't have the chance to live. I haven't met them yet...but that's not the problem. Every time a child dies, the world mourns because of, not just _that_ child's death, but the death of the children that would have been.

And it's my fault.

I couldn't protect him.

I couldn't save him.


	7. Preparations

M'kay, I know I shouldn't update this soon, but...I can't help it!!!! I'm freakin' excited! My computer crashed, and I'm so relieved that I got everything back that I'm going on a splurge of story writing!

Life is good.

Just...not for Azami ;

Oh! And I drew a picture of Gaara and Azami! If I can get it scanned onto a computer eventually, I'll upload it to Sheezy and put the link in the next chapter :) It's so kawaii!

&&Chapter&&

Azami sat outside of Gaara's office, nearly growling with impatience as the gate guard stood outside of Gaara's door. She looked over at him. "What day is today?"

"W-wednesday." He stuttered, startled that she actually spoke to him.

'Wednesday. They'll be back in my village on Saturday, so I have four days, counting today, until the Sound ninja are in my village.' Her eyes widened. 'Wait...that would've made it Monday when I woke up, and it was Saturday when I passed out...so Masayoshi survived for over two days before I got to him!' To stop the tears that she knew would come at that realization, she got up and began to pace angrily, mumbling to herself.

"Pssh...no wonder this is the second-best shinobi nation. The lack of prudence here is disgusting. Here I am with a matter of national emergency, and I've been sitting on my ass for the past ten minutes. What the hell?"

The guard began to blush in shame.

Finally, she stopped in front of the guard and began to yell. "What is this?! This could mean terrible things for every country on this continent, and he can't even take the ten minutes to see me?!"

He put up his hands. "Please, miss, keep your voice down. Gaara-sama is very busy, and he'll see you just as soon as he's able to-"

"He'll see me now!" She screamed, brushing past the guard.

She had her hand on the doorknob before he stopped her. "Please sit down, Kikuchi-san, or we'll be forced to remove you from here until Gaara-sama can see you." At that, Azami began to cry, slumping in his arms. Bewildered and scared, he stared at her. "I...I'm sorry, Kikuchi-san..."

Inconsolable, she wailed, "I didn't just watch the genocide of my entire village to be told that the Kazekage of the one village that can help me doesn't have the time to see me!"

Shock registered on his face. 'Genocide? But...that means the murder of an entire race of people. I pray to the gods that she simply has her words confused...'

"Please, cease your crying." Replied the guard. "I'll go speak with him and reaffirm that this is of utmost importance, if you'll just stop crying."

Instantly, Azami wiped her tears away and stopped sobbing, though the tremble in her voice told the guard that she hadn't been putting on an act. "R-really?"

He nodded, releasing her. "Of course. I will be back momentarily."

He disappeared through the door into Gaara's office, leaving Azami alone in the hallway. She heard voices talking softly, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She didn't care that much, however. All she wanted was to talk to Gaara, get vengeance, and die. She stared at a painting on the wall for a little while, then sat down again, looking down at her broken arm. It had begun to swell. She touched it gently and winced in pain. "Ow..."

Just then, the door opened, and the guard came out. He looked at her. "Gaara-sama will see you now."

"About fucking time." She replied before walking into Gaara's office.

She had never seen him before, so his looks were a surprise to her. She had been expecting some evil-looking ugly fat guy, but Gaara wasn't any of those things. She thought he was actually rather good-looking. 'Well, appearances can be deceiving.' She thought, not willing to give up the hope that he'd kill her.

Gaara, meanwhile, was taking in her appearance with shock on his face. Staring at her swollen arm, black eye, and the numerous scratches, cuts, and bruises on her body, he half-rose from his desk. "You need to get medical attention."

"No."

"No?"

"No." She frowned determinedly. "This is more important."

"If you don't take care of yourself first, you'll die."

"So?" Realizing her mistake, she added, "This is more important than my injuries. Me dying from these wounds would be only one person. However many people will die if you don't get this information...I don't know how many, but thousands will die."

He sat back down. "Alright. Let's hear it."

"Well, first off, I demand that, if I give you this information, you help me find the bastard responsible for it."

"If it is relevant to the safety of our village, we will help you."

She thought about that for a second. 'Well...if we catch him when they return to my village, it'll be fine. Yeah...and that's relevant to Suna's safety...so they'll help. Ok.'

She looked at Gaara solemnly as she spoke. "The Sound ninja are responsible for the genocide of Kawagakure."

He looked at her in puzzlement. "Firstly, I wasn't aware that the River Country was a shinobi nation. Secondly, I don't see how this relates to my village."

"Kawa no Kuni isn't a shinobi country. My family and I are ninjas, and our village was so proud of us, they named the village Kawagakure, or the Hidden River village." She paused and took a deep breath. "But now, I'm the only one left. My mother, my father, and my little brother-" Here, she broke off. Another deep breath helped to calm her down and keep her from crying. "They were killed. No...they were murdered. After they slaughtered our village and our parents, one of them took my brother. I followed him and tried to stop him, and he threw Yoshihiro at me, but three more surrounded us, and he...he was..." She swallowed heavily. "Anyway...before we fought, he revealed their plans. He was bragging, and said that it wouldn't matter because I'd die anyway. Orochimaru plans to set up a base in my village."

She paused to let it sink in, but she couldn't read his expression. He raised his eyebrow. "That's all you know?" He began to rise again. "We've known for years that Orochimaru wanted a base in the River Country. Now, you need to see a medical ninja-"

"That's not all." She interrupted him. She waited for him to sink back into his chair before continuing. "Besides being a laboratory, this base will, from what I understand, become like a secondary village for them. They will travel to the village, set up fortifications, and prepare themselves. When they're fully prepared, they will go out and monitor Konoha and Suna. Any ninja either of your villages send out will be attacked, and if you attempt to send your messenger birds, they will be killed. If you try to go directly from here to Konoha, or vice versa, you'll be traveling through Sound country, and the ninja sent will be murdered. Any relations will be prevented, and as your strength weakens, theirs will grow. Your village may be under siege at any time, and your people will become restless and altogether terrified. I say this about your village because Konoha is stronger than Suna, and Suna is closer to Kawa."

Gaara looked at her intensely, the gravity of the situation pressing on his mind, though he showed no sign of his inner turmoil. "Thank you for this information. It will prove useful. But until I can verify it, I cannot do anything. Diplomacy forbids me from acting against even Oto unless I have absolute proof. I can't take the word of one kunoichi as my proof."

"You can't take my word for it?!" Growled Azami. "Look at me! I just fought six Sound ninja for three days on end! My arm is most likely broken, I'm dehydrated and malnourished and emaciated and everything under the sun you can think of, I've lost more blood than I knew I had, and my entire village is dead! Do you really think I don't know who did it?!"

"I cannot do anything unless I have absolute proof that a Sound ninja did this. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

"God damn it!" Azami slapped her hand down onto his desk and screamed into his face. "You fucking psycho, you more than anyone should know how murderers like that work!"

Calmly, he looked at her, though his insides were boiling with rage. "I'm not like that anymore." He was curious when he saw that her face fell. "If you thought that I was a 'fucking psycho', as you so charmingly put it, then why have you done things that surely would've gotten you killed?"

She sat back down in her seat. "I was hoping that you would kill me."

His eyes widened. "What?"

She looked calmly back at him. "My mother and father are dead. Why wouldn't I want to die?"

"My parents are dead as well, you know. I don't want to die."

"That's because you're the Kazekage. You've got your entire village behind you, and my village is dead!" Tears formed in her eyes. "I've got no one...I don't think you understand just how badly it hurts."

He looked at her with pity and empathy in his heart, but not on his face. When he began to speak, however, she could hear it, along with an unmeasurable sadness, in his voice. "No...I understand completely. In the beginning...my mother named me Gaara as a wish for my death and died during my birth. Yours would have named you Azami as a wish for you to be tough and difficult, but so you would be a good ninja. My uncle tried to assassinate me under my father's orders, and my father was murdered before he even got to see me become a Chuunin. Your village has stood behind you, yes? Mine has tried to assassinate me."

She looked at him with a slight amount of sadness and surprise in her eyes, but she was too wounded by the loss of the people she loved to care too deeply about someone she had just met. "I'm sorry for you, but I suppose that's where we differ. Loneliness is what you've known since birth, so you were used to it. I've known a loving home and family...and now it's gone. I want to die."

'She's not lying...and if what she said is true, we have three days to get to Kawa and prepare for their arrival. I've got to take her word for it...I have no choice. If everything she has told me is true, I cannot take the chance that she's lying and not go.' Gaara sighed. "Alright. I believe you. If this matter is as serious as you say, I'll have to go." He pushed a button on his intercom.

"Yes?" Came the voice of his secretary.

"Please summon Kankurou for me."

"Very well, Kazekage-sama."

In minutes, Kankurou was in Gaara's office. "Yes?"

"I'm leaving the village as soon as Azami is taken care of. You will watch over things here?"

"Certainly, but...it's that serious?"

Gaara looked at him gravely and nodded, and Azami's disapproval of him lessened in that instant. At that moment, she understood that his earlier speech had been an act, and he had understood the gravity of the situation the whole time.

"Then shouldn't someone else go with you two?"

Gaara shook his head. "I need Azami to show me where to go, but beyond the two of us, there should be no other ninja. Stealth is a necessity here. Besides..." Here, he paused to look at Azami, who stared back at him with burning, fiery green eyes. "Azami fought them on her own for three days. We'll be fine."

Kankurou nodded and sat down at Gaara's desk, and Gaara turned to Azami. "Now, Kikuchi-san, you need medical attention."

She agreed, and as they walked, she said, "I agree, but please don't use my surname unless you're pronouncing my full name."

"Why not?" Asked Gaara curiously.

She looked at him seriously. "There's no one else with that name that I am related to any more. I don't like to be reminded of that."

Gaara fell silent at that, mentally chastened but outwardly emotionless. He took her to their best medical ninja, knowing that if anyone could prevent permanent damage, she could.

"Kameko-san." Gaara voiced as he stepped into the greenhouses. "This is Kikuchi Azami. Azami, meet Moshizuki Kameko."

Azami stepped forward and held out her good hand to shake hands with Kameko, and Kameko gasped, but shook hands. Gaara walked towards the entrance. "Azami, I'll be back for you at nine. I've got a lot of preparations to make, and I want to leave under cover of darkness. We can go a little slower if we leave tonight anyway, so we'll just do that."

She nodded, and he left. Kameko turned to her. "Let's get you healed up now!"

Azami sat silently as Kameko healed her, but the whole time, she was thinking desperately. Then, as her eyes rested on an apple tree sapling, she got an idea.

"Kameko-san?"

"Yes?"

"...will you teach me a medical jutsu?"

&&Chapter&&

Well, that's an interesting development! Now I have two choices for the next name analysis. Mitsuo or Kameko. You guys pick!

I hope this mega-long chapter can tide you over until next week!

And, not to toot my own horn, but...AZAMI'S SO HARDCORE!!! XD I LOVE HER!!!

BlackDragon333 :)


	8. Moshizuki Kameko

Hello there! My name is Moshizuki Kameko. My name means 'tortoise'. Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Why would someone name their kid after a turtle?' Well, the tortoise is a symbol of long life in Japan, and my parents are both medical ninja. They figured that I probably would be one too, and they figured that it would be a fitting name for a medical ninja, not to mention a good omen. If your nurse was named "Death", you'd be a little scared, right? What if your nurse was named Angel? You'd almost feel protected, wouldn't you? Well, that's what my parents were going for. Since I'm the best medical ninja in our village...I guess it worked!

Kameko's alright, I guess. She's too friendly for my tastes. She's a great person, and a great medical ninja, but...something about her...It doesn't seem like her beliefs or morals are too strong. Like...she'll give in under the slightest bit of pressure. That might be why she rarely leaves the village. I like her, but we'll never be best friends or anything.


	9. The Sound's Assessment

Who-oa! I am so mega-psyched right now! I just had the most brilliant idea ever! But you guys won't learn the whole thing until wayyyyyy later :)

Oh! And, after Mitsuo, I'm out of characters for name analysis. Any ideas for my filler chapters? Let me know! (Preferably in review form lol)

&&Chapter&&

"You want to learn medical jutsus?" Asked Kameko skeptically.

Now, Azami was in shock from the loss of everything she ever cared about and hadn't even begun to cope with the loss of Masayoshi and Yoshihiro, but she was still a kunoichi and was still instinctively good at tricking even other shinobi.

"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly. "But...don't tell Gaara, okay?"

"You...you want me to keep a secret from the Kazekage?" Kameko backed up. "I...I don't think I can do that." She stuttered.

"Well, no, not keep a secret...I...I want to surprise him. He doesn't seem to think I'll be much help, so...I want to show him that I can help!" If Azami hadn't already been broken up inside, her conscience would have been gnawing at her for lying to Kameko, who had been so nice to her and seemed so friendly.

Kameko smiled. "It'll be a while until you can heal, but alright. I'll teach you."

As Kameko showed her the handsigns, Azami focused intently, knowing that now, when she looked sad, Kameko would think that she was just concentrating on medical jutsu. Really, Azami had the signs memorized the first time Kameko showed them to her.

"Thank you, Kameko-san." Azami said when Kameko showed them to her a third time. "I believe I'm going to practice them until Gaara gets back."

"Certainly!" Kameko smiled. "You'll want to surprise him!"

Azami smiled, then looked slightly ashamed. "I...I'm sorry to be asking another favor, but...is there a tree I could possibly have to plant?"

Kameko looked at her, puzzled. "You do know that trees will only grow in this greenhouse, right? It's too warm and dry for them anywhere else in the village."

"Yes, but I'll be leaving the village soon, and...well...I just like planting trees. I've wrecked a lot in fights, so I always feel guilty about it."

Kameko smiled. "Sure. How about this apple sapling?"

Azami smiled back. "Sure, that's perfect. Thank you, Kameko-san."

"It's no problem. But I've got to mix up some antidotes and do some inventory, so..."

"I think I'll practice my handsigns over there." Answered Azami, motioning to the area beside the door. "Gaara will be here in three hours, so I've got to get these down if I want to impress him!"

Kameko smiled and walked away, and Azami's smile immediately fell off her face. The hole in her ribs, which she had deliberately avoided mentioning when she got the idea to learn medical jutsu, was throbbing. With a quick glance at Kameko to make sure that she wasn't looking, Azami performed the jutsu and attempted to heal her ribs. She didn't know the risks of it, but she didn't mind much, seeing as dying was actually an ambition of hers. She was surprised, however, when nothing bad happened, and she looked down to see that she was healed.

'Pfft. Not for a long time my ass.' She thought criticizingly. Then, she went back to 'practicing' the handsigns, messing up occasionally to make it look right in case Kameko was watching. 'This is perfect. Now, with this medical jutsu, I'll be able to make that sapling grow into a full-fledged tree. That can be the monument to my village that I promised them. I'll put it right in the middle of the town square.'

At about eight o'clock, the door opened and Kankurou walked in. "Kameko, Gaara wants two of your neutralizing antidotes."

"Can do." Kameko answered from across the greenhouse. "It'll be about ten minutes, so make yourself comfortable."

"Sure." Kankurou replied, sitting down on the groud to the left of the door. Then, he noticed Azami on the right. "Hey."

She looked up. "Hi." Then, she went back to her hand signs.

Something clicked in Kankurou's mind. "Hey! You're Kikuchi Azami!"

She looked up at him again. "Yes, I am..."

"It's just that, when I saw you earlier, you were covered in injuries. Now that I see you without them..." He grinned. "I must say, it's quite an improvement."

She raised a delicate eyebrow. "What?"

Thinking that she had only misunderstood him, he replied, "You're way hot. When you and Gaara come back from wherever you're going, you wanna catch a movie?"

She looked at him incredulously. "You're...hitting on me?"

He grinned. "I guess you could call it that."

She looked at him in surprise for a moment. "You're no Masayoshi." Then, she punched him in the face and walked to the other side of the greenhouse.

A stunned Kankurou was laying on the floor when Kameko walked over with the antidotes. "What happened?!" She asked, bending down over him worriedly.

From where he was, he had a perfect view down her shirt. "Nothing." He replied. "Just a little dizzy, I guess." Flashing her his most winning smile, he sat up.

A blushing Kameko helped him stand up. "You'd better let me check you over, just in case."

Kankurou had been working on his abs recently, so he nodded and then pointed at them. "You might want to start there. I've had some pain there lately."

Azami, meanwhile, was hiding in some plants, disgusted at the conversation she was hearing and at Kankurou in general. A part of her tried to be fair, knowing that he hadn't known about her village and that even Gaara didn't know about Masayoshi, but the larger, more controlling part of her was just pissed off in general. Her village was dead, and the bastard thought she'd be able to be happy enough to flirt or even respond positively to flirting? No wonder she had punched him.

Nestled in a corner behind several bushes, Azami was pretty much invisible. She sighed, trembling and trying to hold in her tears. "Damn it...God damn it!"

Hidden in shrubbery, she buried her head in her arms and waited for nine o'clock, when the Kazekage of the second most powerful shinobi village would be coming to get her to take her to her ruined village, where they'd be taking on an unknown number of Sound ninja, alone.

'Hurry up, Gaara.'

"Kabuto!"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?"

"Our scouts have been sent out, yes?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Just as you requested."

"What was their excuse for returning so late?"

"I only spoke with Mitsuo. He told me of a kunoichi in the village that held them up."

"I wasn't aware that Kawa had shinobi."

"Apparently a small family of ninja had moved there in recent years. The kunoichi, her brother, and their parents. Their parents were eliminated quickly, as was the boy, but the kunoichi was a problem. It appears she fought all six of them for three days and two nights."

"Did they mention a name?" Asked Orochimaru, straightening a little with interest.

"No, sir. They didn't know it. Would an adequate description suffice?"

"I suppose."

"She is apparently 5'4". Her hair is brown, her eyes were seen both as blue and green, and she seems of average build. She looks to be about fifteen."

"Dismissed."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." He mumbled, disappearing into the shadows.

'So, Azami.' Thought Orochimaru. 'I've found you at last.' He stood and began to pace. 'There's no way those six idiots managed to kill you on their own. You're alive, somewhere. Most likely in Suna. Since you're alive, you'll be on your guard, of course. You don't know the things I know, so you won't be expecting me. After the attack on your village, though, you _will_ be expecting trouble. I'd better wait a month or so.' Then, he smiled, and his tongue licked his lips.

'I can't wait to examine you.'

&&Chapter&&

OMG! Oro knows who Azami is?! Ho-ho! I bet you weren't expecting THAT! Bahahaha yeah. That's right. I sort of forgot to mention that this is an AU where Sasuke never left the village? Oops. Well, you know now!

I like reviews :)

BlackDragon333


	10. Chapter 10

Hey, everybody.

Blackdragon333 here.

First off, let me say that I'm sorry I haven't updated in a very long time.

Next, let me say that I won't be updating in a very long time.

Third, let me explain why, and keep in mind that I'm 15, so I'm not overreacting.

On December 6th, 2007, my mother was killed in a car crash, and my baby brother was critically injured. She was 36 years old, and he's 3. A coal truck rear-ended them. This truck was driven by a man the same age and with the same initials as my mother, and he had two children as well. The owner of the company that employed him was my mom's high school sweetheart.

I live with my grandparents now because my father's a deadbeat. They don't have high-speed internet, and frankly, I haven't felt much like writing, though I did write a poem.

I'm sorry, everyone. I'll be posting this on each of my stories, so don't bother reading it twice, unless you want to.

Well, I need to go now. We're going to see my baby brother, and I should be ready when it's time to leave.

Once again, I'm really really really sorry that I won't have the time or the resources to update. Between cleaning out our house and going to visit my brother, along with school, I just got in the time to write this. I'm sorry :(

BlackDragon333 3


	11. Setting Off

So guys...Dragon-chan's back! =] So I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm really sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been working hard in the meantime to catch up! Well...here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

&&Chapter&&

At nine in the evening, Azami's head snapped up as she jerked awake. 'I fell asleep?' She couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that she'd be able to sleep after everything she'd been through and all that had happened to her village.

She rose and headed towards the door of the greenhouse, figuring she'd wait outside for Gaara. As she opened the door and stepped forwards, Gaara entered, and they collided. Azami blushed as she looked up at Gaara, seeing as how their bodies were pressed together, and Gaara put his hand on the back of his neck in embarrassment. They both backed up at the same time.

"S-sorry, Gaara." Azami mumbled.

"I apologize as well." He replied, feeling embarrassed as well. Then, he looked around. "Where's Kameko? I asked Kankurou for antidotes an hour ago, and he never came back. Did she leave?"

"Well, Kankurou got here...but I fell asleep shortly afterwards. I don't know what happened to them."

They looked around the greenhouse, but no one was in sight. Azami's keen ears picked up sounds coming from the shed in the back of the greenhouse, and she walked towards it. She put her ear against the door and listened, and her jaw dropped, her eyebrows knitted together, and her eyes widened. One eye twitched a bit, and Gaara had to turn away to hide his laughter at her expression. When she came back, he had himself under control. "Are they in there?"

"Um...uh..." She coughed. "I, uh...don't think they want to be disturbed. Um...those are the antidotes on the counter, I think."

She walked over to the counter and grabbed the antidotes, and when she turned back to Gaara, she almost smiled at his expression. Apparently, he had just realized _why_ she had made that expression earlier. Azami handed him the antidotes. "We should probably leave."

"Yeah. NOW." He agreed hurriedly, walking over to the door. She assumed that he would be going through first and expecting her to follow, but, contrary to her expectations, he held the door open for her.

"Well...thank you." She said in surprise.

"It's no problem." He answered as she moved past him, shutting the door behind them. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah." She answered. "So, you have everything we need, then?"

"Of course." He replied. "We won't be sleeping, so I haven't brought a tent. Everything else is in this backpack." He motioned to a pack tied to his gourd.

She nodded. "Good. So we'll make it there by Saturday, right?"

"We'll get there on Friday morning." He answered as he led her towards the gates. "That way, we've got one day for me to learn the land and to set up an ambush."

She fell silent as they left the village. 'This is it, then. Saturday's the day. I'll have my revenge, and if everything goes well, I'll be able to die. Gaara won't do it, so...maybe I can get a Sound ninja to do it. I'll trick them into it if they don't do it for me. Well...it all goes down on Saturday.'

Gaara's voice interrupted her thoughts about two miles from Suna. "What can you tell me about your village?"

"Well...the right and back are blocked from attack by cliffs. There's a river to the left, about a hundred yards from the village, but since we can walk on water, it doesn't really matter. There's nothing in the front to stop or impede them. It's just forest."

Gaara nodded. "Which way did they come in?"

"I don't know." She swallowed. "One second we were all laughing, and the next we were screaming, crying, or dead. It was like they had just appeared everywhere in one second."

He looked at her sadly. "Was it genjutsu?"

"No." She shook her head. "We were just unprepared for an attack by a shinobi nation." She laughed, but he heard the sadness in it and knew that it bordered on hysteria. "But then again, why would we be? We were a non-shinobi country, except for my family. How did we know to prepare for an attack by that kind of slime?!"

He put his hand on her shoulderblades. "You didn't." She looked up in surprise, and he moved his hand off her shoulders self-consciously, but he continued. "I don't know the whole story, but there were only three full-fledged ninja in your village, right? You and your parents were the only ones that would've been capable of defending anyone. Against the Sound ninja, it's a miracle that even one of you survived."

She looked down, and tears formed in her eyes. "Two of us survived the attack."

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah...me and Kuwabara Masayoshi. He...Masa survived it, but...I don't know how. His stomach...he was cut up so badly, it looked like raw meat. It was...it was terrible." The tears began to fall down her face. "I don't know how he lived in the first place, but...I couldn't save him. If I had only known a medical jutsu...I might've kept him alive."

Gaara, meanwhile, had no idea what to say to that. He was the Kazekage of his village, yes, and he had made great strides in his personality, but he had never seen anyone cry before. Instinctively, though, he knew what to do.

He stopped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him in surprise, directly into his usually troubled aquamarine eyes. He looked back down into her tear-filled emerald eyes, and his eyes widened as he felt the stirrings of attachment deep within his cracked heart. Then, he smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. "You did everything you could."

"How do you know?!" She sobbed hysterically, breaking down into sobs thanks to the strong arms she felt around her, despite all of her unwillingness to show emotion in front of such an influential ninja. His strength brought out her weaknesses as she sobbed bitterly into his shoulder. "You weren't even there! I could have saved them, but I went after Yoshihiro instead! I went after one person instead of saving the people that I could! I should've known better! I'm a ninja! No, actually, I'm not! I don't deserve to call myself that!" She wailed. "I'm a failure!"

"Azami." Gaara said solemnly, pulling away to look directly and sternly into her eyes. "You are a better ninja than over half the shinobi in Suna, and I don't know _any_ kunoichi that are tougher than you. Even Temari, my sister, would most likely lose to you in a fight. None of them know the pain of loss like you do, not even myself. When you are able to cope with this tragedy, you will become a greater ninja than anyone else in Suna. Including myself."

She looked up into his eyes with tears flowing down her face incessantly. "Gaara...thank you. But I don't want to be a great ninja. I don't even want to be _alive_. How could I defend a village...when I couldn't even defend my little brother?"

Leaving him standing in the path, she resumed their pace towards Konoha.

&&Chapter&&

Poor Sachi...but poor Gaara, too! Never knowing exactly what to say to her, somehow not being able to stop her crying...poor guy =[

But I bet he gets better with time =]

BD333, out!


	12. The Kunoichi from the Cannibal Clan

Wow everybody, I'm really sorry. I haven't updated anything (except Who Needs You?) since like...January. I'm really sorry. I'd make excuses, but the truth is, I lost my drive as a writer after my mom died. But I've come to realize that writing is the one way I have left to feel close to her, because she was a writer too. I'll be updating pretty much everything now, and I'm sorry it took so long, guys. Lots more to come!

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Gaara watched her go with surprise on his face that quickly turned to alarm. "Azami-!" He called after her, stretching out a hand. Immediately, he sent his sand towards her.

She, however, had no need of its help. She sprang backwards, barely avoiding the sword that slammed down onto the path where her head had been. A less experienced ninja would simply have gotten out of the way, but she sprang backwards, away from the sword and towards Gaara, the stronger of both of the two of them and her ally as well.

He reached out his arms and caught her, holding her shoulders from behind. "Are you alright?"

The tone in his voice upset her, and it upset her a lot. It wasn't that he had said it intending insult, because he hadn't. What upset her was how much he seemed to care, and also how weak he seemed to think she was. He had no right to care for her, since he had only known her for two days. In the same respect, he had no right to condemn her as weak when he hadn't even seen her in a fight. "Yes, Gaara, the precious, dependent kunoichi is somehow fine. I know it's hard to believe that I somehow managed to save myself from getting killed, but somehow, my weak, dainty little body had enough ninja skill in it to work." She spat, yanking her shoulders out of his grip.

He looked at her in surprise, taken aback. "T-that's not what I meant, Azami..."

She looked at his sad expression, feeling a mixture of regret and mild surprise. She had hurt the Kazekage's feelings? He mustn't be as established as she had heard. At the same time, though, the compassion that had always been circulating in Azami's blood took hold, and she felt regretful for what she had said. It wasn't his fault that he was surprised...she probably would have been too, had she been in his place. A beaten up girl from an assassinated village claims to be a ninja, cries in front of him, and tells him she would rather die than be alive. If she had been him, she would've been racing to save herself as well.

She let none of this show, though. She was a kunoichi, after all, and there was an enemy around. "We'll discuss this later, Kazekage-sama." She said briskly. "It appears this ninja has some business to attend to...or try to, at least."

Seeing that she was indeed correct, Gaara nodded, and they faced their assailant head-on. Expecting someone at least vaguely scary-looking, they were surprised to see a kunoichi standing there, all in pink and yellow. They looked at each other, and Azami raised an eyebrow. Then, the girl grinned at them, revealing a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth that dripped with blood.

Azami swallowed. "Something tells me that blood isn't from an animal..."

Gaara silently agreed, and added, "Human blood."

"Mmhmm." Smiled the kunoichi jovially. "And aren't you guys lucky? It's time for me to eat again."

'Something about her seems off.' Thought Azami. 'She's...I don't think she's right in the head.'

"Careful." Warned Gaara, murmuring in her ear. She blushed at his closeness, then mentally slapped herself for caring at all. "She doesn't seem to be mentally stable."

"Yeah." Azami turned her head so she was in his ear, accidentally brushing her lips against his cheek in the process. As the Kazekage turned beet-red, she whispered, "I know this kind. They're from the country south of Kawa. She's from a small clan that got kicked out of their village for cannibalism. Every generation has filed their teeth into that shape, but recently, the babies have been born with teeth already sharpened. When I say recently, I mean in the past thirty years. She's one of those babies. Crueler than the first generations, these ones don't just kill to eat...they kill for the fun of it. Also, they won't hesitate to use those teeth. If you give her one opening, she'll get you."

A still-red Gaara replied, "Do you know how they fight?"

Azami shook her head. "No one who has fought them is alive to know."

Gaara, now more solemn than before, looked away from Azami's face (or her lips, more specifically) and looked towards the cannibalistic kunoichi. She was grinning at them. "I see you're well-informed of my clan, little girl." She answered, not noticing nor caring when Azami's temple began to throb at her condescending attitude. "How cute that you possibly think you can win! My clan fights with-"

Gaara never knew what she was about to say, because just then, with a speed unrivaled in the shinobi world, Azami slashed her throat open. Gaara blinked in surprise, looking down to where she had been a millisecond ago to discover that it was indeed her. Wiping her kunai on the kunoichi's clothes, Azami stood up and turned to face Gaara from the twenty feet she had covered in less than a second. "Well. Let's go."

"Azami-" He began, about to apologize for however he had insulted her earlier.

"Walk and talk, shall we? We've wasted time here."

Obliging, he talked to her as they jogged at a twelve mile per hour clip. "Earlier, when I asked you if you were alright, I didn't mean that I thought you were weak." He said softly, not meeting her eyes. "I was just concerned for you."

She sighed, knowing that she had been in the wrong. "I know. It's alright. I guess I overreacted, Gaara. I just didn't want you feeling as though I couldn't handle myself when you hadn't even seen me in a fight."

He nodded. "I apologize once again, Azami. You were right...I shouldn't have said anything about it, and I definitely shouldn't have in the presence of that kunoichi."

Suddenly, Azami looked up at him. "Did I do it well?"

He looked at her, puzzled and raising a non-existant eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Killing her. Did I do it right?"

"Wait. You mean to tell me that she was your first kill?"

Azami blushed. "Well...yeah. That fight with the Sound ninja was my first fight ever. My village doesn't get many attackers, not like yours does. How did I do?"

"You..." He stopped, shaking his head. "You did amazingly. I can't say that I know any kunoichi who rival you at all, in any respect. Except maybe Sakura and Tsunade of the Leaf with their strength." He thought about it for a minute. "Will you do me a favor?"

She looked up at him questioningly. "What?"

"Punch the ground for me, as hard as you possibly can."

She looked at him oddly. "Why?"

"I'd like to test something, and this is the fastest way I know how to do it."

She shrugged. "Sure, if you want."

Gaara, by now expecting the very maximum from her, jumped into a tree at what he knew to be the inner edge of Sakura's range. He wasn't expecting her to reach him, seeing as how she didn't know how to use her chakra to attack, so he was calmly standing there. He was shocked when the tree he was standing on fell into the ground. He looked behind him to see just how far she had reached, and saw that the cracks in the ground had spread twenty-five feet behind him.

'Five yards more than Sakura, and without chakra manipulation?!' He thought. "What...what _is_ she?"

Azami, meanwhile, picked herself up out of the hole she had created and looked at Gaara shyly.

"How was that?"

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There you go, guys. Review, please, and let me know how it is? Thanks!

~BD333, out!


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